TAMILNADU GOVERNMENT STOP PATRONIZING AUROVILLE

The separate city state of Auroville had debated its Official Language issue too, as per Auroville News dated December21st 2002.

“Regarding the language issue, I would like to notice that the Entry group recommends also to foreigners the knowledge of the English language. The official papers, the meetings, the assemblies, etc are in English, most of the people in Auroville speak English, so it would not be possible to interact with many members of the community and participate to what goes on in Auroville without knowing at least English. Let us face it, of the four official languages of Auroville, English is the easiest to learn, that’s why it is considered the international language of the world “wrote Claudio Djaima, an Italian. This brings to light that Auroville has 4 official languages, contrary to the three-language formula at Indian national level and the two-language policy at Tamilnadu state level. A community of foreigners living in Aurovillage naturally will speak their mother tongue. After all the French woman, Mirra Alfasa, who is The Mother to Aurovillians, spoke everyday in French her views, which are in audio form as well as book form titled “Mother’s Agenda” compiled by Satprem for 22 years running into 6000 pages of 13 volumes. In that 13th volume in her own words, she had told how people surrounding her are cheating her because of her fading eyesight. Our charge here is that this city state has its own official language policy.

The same Claudia Djaima in his reply to one Thiru.Gnanavel, who fortunately became Aurovillian but not his wife, writes “About institutionalized discrimination, I don’t understand whom you refer to. If I am right, 30% of Aurovillians are Tamils, in fact if you divide the Aurovillians by nationality, Tamilians are the largest group. So where is the discrimination? By the way you surely know Auroville should be a universal city or at least international. What kind of universal city will it be if 90% of inhabitants come from one single country and only the remaining 10% belong to other 185 countries of the world? Every big city around the world is like that, most of it made up of native population, and only a small part is made up of immigrants”

Dravida Peravai draws the attention of Tamilnadu Government to this statement, which clearly reflects the policy of Auroville IS NOT TO ADMIT TAMILS AS RESIDENTS. EVEN IF HUSBAND IS AUROVILLIAN, HIS WIFE WILL NOT BE MADE AUROVILLIAN. This was in 2002, and I am not clear about this individual Tamil’s case today. But the brazen manner in which an Italian state to a Tamil that his wife need not be made Aurovillian proves the Mother’s dictum that Auroville belongs to nobody but to everybody as failed promise. How can Indian Government or Tamilnadu Government allow the growth of a city, where its own sons of the soil will be shown the closed door?

We all are aware of the Amarnath row, even if we have missed it, the Chairman of Auroville Foundation Dr.Karan Singh, being a Kashmiri first and Universalist next, would have taken note of. “ The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Friday 27th June 2008 said that notwithstanding noises being made about the Government order diverting 39.88 hectares of land under compartment No: 63a /Sindh in Sindh Forest Division to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, the fact of the matter is that the Government order No.184/FST of 2008 dated June 26th issued in this regard says in unequivocal terms that the diversion of land is for raising pre fabricated structures only for camping purposes of pilgrims without going in for construction of permanent structures at Baltal and Domail by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. The order lays down specific terms and conditions that the property status of the forest land shall remain unchanged and the land so diverted shall be utilized only for the purpose for which it has been diverted. It shall not be transferred to any other agency without approval of the Forest Department, the order further says. The land shall not be mortgaged, re-assigned or sub leased by user agency in any manner whatsoever to any other agency, adds the order” says Deccan Chronicle.

People’s protests and Jammu and Kashmir Government changing its decision are issues not related to the subject of this salvo against Auroville Foundation. Even for a temple, that too pilgrimage purposes, people of you Kingdom are not allowing Government to allocate land, Dr.Karan Singh, how come you are not going there, to gain Hindus land, in spite of you being a former Prince of Kashmir. All the way you come to Tamilnadu to grab our land to set up a neo-colony, we are sorry to pinpoint your double standards, since democracy considers a king or a cobbler, a prince or a beggar as equals.

“Auroville is situated in Vanur Taluk, Villupuram District and is comprised of the Panchayats of Irumbai and Bommayarpalayam. Small extent of this land is in Kattukuppam, Rajapudupallam, and Mathur Panchayats and in Melankuppam within the Union Territory of Puducherry.

In view of the difficulties in declaring the area- Auroville, under Town and Country Planning Act consequent to the Auroville Foundation Act 1988, envisaging autonomy to the resident’s assembly of Auroville, it was suggested to protect the area by separate legislation as that of Kalpakkam [Tamilnadu Nuclear Installation Authority ] or on the lines of proposals of heritage sites, towns declared by Tamilnadu” so goes on one of the proposals in the Report of Special Commission of Town and Country Planning dated 1st July 2002.

The Central Act itself needs review. It was done to take over the project from a mismanaged society, but its aims run contrary to Tamilnadu Town Country Planning Act. Yes, how can Tamilnadu call a VILLAGE of 1619 people as TOWN? So the master minds of this neo-colony want to give Auroville, the status of Kalpakkam. Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant generates power for our country, but Auroville through its sub trusts generate money for foreigners, who live in bungalows worth 3 crores, whereas all the Tamil villagers live in huts getting less than 30 $ per month as wages, as rightly pointed out by Ms.Rachel Wright in BBC.

The Auroville Foundation Act spells about Resident Assembly. “The resident’s assembly shall consist of all the residents of Auroville who are for the time being entered in the register of residents maintained under this section. The Secretary of the Governing Board shall maintain the register of residents in such manner as may be prescribed and all the persons who are residents of Auroville and who are of the age of eighteen years and above are entitled to have their names entered in the register on an application made to the Secretary in such form as may be prescribed”.

The Secretary, who as Carel Theime proudly proclaimed is Joint Secretary Grade. He has right to enter register of residents. It may appear as per the above clause that he has powers to admit residents once they are 18 years old. But this power is mirage, as next provision will establish.

Under functions of Residents Assembly, it has powers to allow the admission or

Cause the termination of persons in the register of residents in accordance with the regulations made under Section 32”. This power of the Resident Assembly should be withdrawn. The Resident Assembly can only be a Community debating Integral Yoga; it should have no statutory role to confer citizenship of Auroville city-state, a historical legacy of the Roman city state. These powers are used by foreigners to deny wife citizenship while husband is resident, in case if he happens to be Tamilian.

Let me revert back to the Italian friend who sermonizes to Tamil Aurovillian. “One question arises in me. Your wife has been living in Auroville with you all these years, what will the big difference be for her if she will become Aurovillian? I always saw the status of Aurovillian as a help from Indian Government with visa for those people that are really dedicated to Auroville “says Claudio Djaima.

The cat is out of the bag. Visa to Auroville. Who recommends ? Is it Secretary, an Indian Government servant answerable to Indian Parliament, in view of himself holding office in a Parliament created Foundation? NO. NO.NO. The so called resident’s assembly, its working committee, literally foreigners recommend visa for fellow foreigners. This power poses grave dangers to Indian security, yet Indian Government is in slumber.

Having said that Tamils face discrimination, the rest of Indians should not think that the neo-colony will welcome them with red carpet. Let me reproduce news from THE HINDU:

Row over carrying bags inside Auroville: [By our Staff Reporter] Auroville Dec.26 : Visitors to Matrimandir in Auroville were engaged in a scuffle with volunteers over an alleged racial discrimination this evening. As per instructions at the entrance, visitors have to leave their belongings at a counter before entering to the Matrimandir. Trouble started when a group, which was not allowed to carry its bag inside, pointed that the authorities were allowing foreigners in with bags, but not Indians. “We have so much cash in the bag but they did not allow us to take it in. So we asked our servant to stay here with the bag but we spotted a foreigner inside with a bag. How can they treat us like that? asked Shubhara Singh.

Accusing the authorities discrimination, her husband U.K.Singh asked other Indians in the crowd to stage a dharna. His father K.K.Singh, the BJP Gaya District President from Bihar, challenged the volunteers saying “we will show them what BJP’s dharma means. Let them realize what Indians are”

The volunteers meanwhile tried to shut the gates and directed visitors who still wanted to go through another path. A scuffle emerged when the visitors attempted to keep the volunteers from shutting the gates and some were pushed around….. So reports national daily The Hindu. Hats off to Biharis, they protested for entrance but we Tamils denied resident status just murmur, which never could reach the ears of Government of India, through its eyes, namely Intelligence Bureau.

Meanwhile most of my blogs are getting good responses. Let me quote one response.

Sampradayak June 24, 2008 at 6:21 am

You are correct: The Act has entrusted the primary responsibility for organizing various activities, formulating the master plan, raising of funds to the Residents Assembly.

But what mess is there in reality?

Several criminal clans have illegally shared between them the powers and functions of the Residents Assembly. These criminal groups have effectively kept the Residents Assembly’s meetings to 1-2 times a year, and restricted it to some general policy-making.

The Residents Assembly in the past 20 years has not organized any activities, has not formulated (but ratified only) the master plan, has not raised any funds. Everything has been privatized.

A thorough investigation is needed in SAIIER’s criminal activities. Crores of the central government grants received specifically for research has been misspent: where are the reports of this research and what kind of research is it if there are no results, no publications of such “research”? It is fraud: grants were spent on anything but research. Grants were spent on salaries, tuitions for Aurovillian children, feeding them, taking them on tours, buying them expensive equipment.

One of the criminal activities popular in Auroville is fictitious marriages between the westerners and the Indians. These marriages are done to secure long-term visas for westerners, especially criminals.

For example, Bernard the owner of a guesthouse in Sharnga area of Auroville, married a Tamil woman fictitiously. There was a fighting for the ownership of the guesthouse, a lot of political fights, and he was not able to extend his visa and was sent out of Auroville. He came back on a tourist visa and married immediately.